LACMA With Kids

On Sunday we went on an excursion outside of the Orange curtain.  After church we drove to LA to visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 

First, we ate lunch at Plancha.  We ordered two chicken tacos, one steak taco, one tilapia taco, one shrimp taco and a breakfast burrito. 

The shrimp taco was the best.  The chicken was too healthy/bland.  The breakfast burrito was hearty and filling.

Stomachs filled, k asked if she should go to sleep in the car afterward, thinking we were going home.  I thought it was funny that she thought we drove all that way just to eat at that restaurant.

We found free street parking off of Sixth street since it was Sunday.  We walked past the La Brea Tar Pits and found the LACMA campus.  There is a program called NEXGEN which allows kids under 18 years old to get a membership pass (good until they are 18) for free.  Best of all, each kid with a pass gets a free adult admission.  In other words, we didn’t have to pay anything. 

D and I had been to LACMA during our early married-pre-kids stage of life when we lived in L.A.  Oh, how that seems so long ago!

Our first stop was to see a piece called Metropolis.  It consists of a bunch of buildings and roadways with cars, buses, trains, etc.  The best part is that it is put in motion during certain hours.  I made sure we were there for the 12:30 flip of the switches. 

Shortly after D put n on his shoulders, we were informed that this was NOT allowed.  There is an upper balcony if you want a bird’s eye view, though.

“How do we get out of here?”

Next, we went to see an outdoor installation of lampposts.

Then, we went to the children’s workshop area.

 

n was quite pleased because he said this was the first time he ever painted.  That is not true, but it is true that I don’t really enjoy the mess that comes with painting at home, so I appreciate when they have the opportunity to paint somewhere else. 

Finally, we stopped off at another outdoor installation that looks like pasta.  At first, it was roped off, but later on it was open and the kids were going crazy with it.

Who knew that plastic tubing could be so much fun?  We were amazed at how strong it was, considering the kids were swinging on it like vines.

On the way back, we stopped to look at one of the La Brea tar pits.  D checked it off of his 1,000 places to see, even though we didn’t go to the actual museum.

I just now realized that we forgot to see Levitated Mass.  Oh well, I guess we have until the kids are 18 to go back and see it.  And, given the lengths it took to install that particular piece, I don’t think it is going anywhere anytime soon!